With the sculptural installation Your Success is Your Amnesia, FOS takes his art to the public space on a big scale, with a piece that is both sculpture and architecture. The sculpture extends into the space between the school’s new and recently renovated buildings as a series of pavilions where Gothic arches and modernist architecture, church floors and asphalt, a bell and a leaking, scrapped motorcycle form a setting where the students can socialize, study and prepare for class.
The sculptural installation provides an aesthetic transition between Henning Hansen’s recently renovated classic red-brick building from 1940 and Laungaard Arkitekter’s new-built sports hall in raw concrete from 2013. Architecturally, the space is also designed as a meeting place for the students, who can sit on the built-in benches, find shelter or shade under the trees and the arches or hang out by the ornamental pond. The space also opens the school up to the local community, inviting the local residents into the school grounds.
A shared memory
‘The piece relates extremely well to our buildings, our history, our mission and our values,’ says the rector of Efterslægten, Anne Frausing. She adds,
‘With “Your Success is Your Amnesia” our student environment has also gained a new dimension. Working with FOS about the narrative of the installation has been a very rewarding experience, and it has been a real pleasure to see all the great ideas come to fruition. I am certain that our students are going to enjoy the sculptural space in the future, and that it will give the local area a unique artistic shot in the arm.’
FOS says about the piece:
‘In an increasingly complicated world, we tend to move more easily towards uniformity. That is why education continues to be such a crucial element for our democracy. A democracy that is currently in need of assistance. When these fundamental institutions emerged in the bright light of the Age of Enlightenment, they were represented and respected through their architecture. With “Your Success is Your Amnesia” I wanted to point to these meanings and to the more general notion of a shared memory – in fact, many cornerstones were laid, and many decisions were made before you were even born, and it would be a pity if all that was lost!’
The chairman of the New Carlsberg Foundation, Karsten Ohrt, adds,
‘It was crucial for the foundation that FOS would create a project that had meaning both for the school and for the surrounding area in Copenhagen’s north-west district. FOS lived up to that. With his playful method he has created a mix of design, architecture and art; a place for being, experiencing and meditating. We hope that it will spark reflection and social interactions among the school’s students, teachers and neighbours.’
